The use of medication to treat and prevent a variety of illnesses is very common in modern medicine.
Patients prescribed such medications are instructed to ingest or otherwise consume the medication at a prescribed dosage at regular intervals, e.g. twice daily.
Instructions for taking medication are typically provided on a prescription label affixed to the container in which the medication is dispensed.
The instructions provided may include higher level detail, e.g. to be taken before meals, after meals, at bedtime, as needed, etc.
Unfortunately, it is relatively common for patients to forget to take their medication, thereby impeding the effectiveness of the prescribed treatment and potentially putting the patient's health and well being in jeopardy.
Many patients are required to take multiple medications, and in some cases each medication is to be taken at different times and time intervals. For example, a first medication may be required to be taken morning and evening, and a second medication may be required to be taken only at night before sleep.
Accordingly, patients who are required to consume a number of medications on a regular basis can easily lose track of the dosage and time at which each particular medication should next be taken.
Various devices, systems and methods have been developed to aid in the correct timing of administration of medication by patients. Existing devices focus on providing a reminder to a patient to take medication at particular time intervals.
However, such devices do not attempt to address other problems associated with the consumption of prescription medication. For example, in the case of elderly and infirm patients, it is not uncommon for them to be unable to remember the particular dosage instructions associated with the medication, a problem that increases when a number of medications are prescribed for management of a particular illness.
Moreover, many patients find it difficult to read the instructions printed on prescription labels.
The above problems are ameliorated by the present invention which is described herein. Moreover, it will be understood that whilst the present invention has particular application in the context of the problems associated with dispensing medication, the device of the present invention has application in a wide variety of contexts.